You'll notice I added a spot where you can enter your email address so you can be notified when this blog is updated (when one reader requests something, I always assume there are others who also want it!). However, I have heard that it doesn't always work. So... if you want to, give it a whirl and then let me know if it is working for you. Thanks!

Go see this movie. Take your children, even though they may occasionally be confused or fidgety. Boredom and confusion are also part of democracy, after all. “Lincoln” is a rough and noble democratic masterpiece — an omen, perhaps, that movies for the people shall not perish from the earth.

Wednesday, November 7, 2012

Wow! There's so much to say about the election that it will have to be spread out over the coming weeks and months. But the strongest feeling I have is one of overwhelming pride in our country. It's amazing that a nation as enormous as ours is is able to go to the polls by the millions in just one day (although in some places, as the President pointed out last night at 2 a.m., that has to be improved on) and then by 11 p.m. the same night we are able to know who has been elected President. The Founding Fathers would be thrilled!

As I wrote about in my recent post, I think our democracy is working just fine. And yesterday was more proof of that. It will be very interesting to see what impact President Obama's reelection now has on the gridlock in Washington. Will the Republicans finally now try to cooperate with the President on all of his initiatives? Should be interesting to watch how much progress is made in the coming months on all of the things the President had been pushing for in his first term.

And, it should be interesting to watch in the coming weeks and months if a full-fledged civil war breaks out in the Republican Party amongst the moderates and the extreme right-wing (Tea Party). With the so-called "Tea Party" completely responsible for the Republican Party's loss yesterday, it should be interesting to see if they are finally called out by the more mainstream Republicans as the irresponsible fanatics that they are. The behavior of those people has been absolutely reprehensible—the very worst example of America. In just a few years they managed to alienate virtually every group of Americans except perhaps rich white people. I haven't seen more despicable behavior in modern-day American history. Kicking handicapped people on the sidewalk, booing our soldiers, screaming for sick people to die! Stomach turning.

Firstly, just want to ask everyone to please remember all of those affected by Hurricane Sandy. I have noticed many storefronts on Austin St. have put signs in their windows telling people how they can help. There has been a wonderful outpouring of support for the victims of this storm. Visit this blog's Facebook page for more information on where to help. Readers have been posting information there...

Now onto some comment about the upcoming Presidential election this Tuesday. I thought I would just offer a different opinion to what is a common refrain we often hear today: "Our Democracy is not working." "The gridlock in Washington is proof of this." "The gridlock in Washington is bad." These points of view have never sat well with me and the reason is because I think they are just short-term observations. And we need to look at the long-term, macro political environment in the United States today to truly understand what our country is experiencing.

What we have been going through, probably since Reagan was president, is a protracted conflict in our nation's politics where the right wing has been moving slowly more and more to the right, while the left wing slowly moves more and more to the center. If you take things from a long-term approach you will see that Washington is actually working just as it should be today.

What I am saying is that not all political conflicts are resolved in one or two Presidential elections. Sometimes it takes several such elections, and several decades, to resolve them. The battle between an increasingly right wing Republican Party and the Democratic Party is just such a conflict. It has been going on since the 1980's and it is still going on. Look at the election on Tuesday as just one battle in a long-term, protracted struggle.

There are many different things that have happened to the Republican Party over the past few decades, but I think the most important one is that the Republican Party has been hijacked by religious fundamentalists. That is what has been guiding most of its platforms. That is what has been guiding most of its extremist views.

So, you have a protracted struggle pitting religious fundamentalists who want to impose their way of life on everybody else, against a mostly secular, moderate Democratic Party. Sure, some people are Republicans today more because of their economic views or for other reasons and they reluctantly accept the fundamentalist nature of their party. That doesn't change the fact that it is this religious extremism that has been having the most impact on the Republican Party since the 1980's.

So if you hear someone say over the next couple of days something to the effect of: "It's really not important to vote. Nothing will change in Washington. It's just gridlock there. Washington doesn't work anymore." Remember to look at things from a long-term point of view. We are in the middle of a decades-long struggle for this country. No one ever said all political struggles in America can be resolved in one or two presidential elections. Some struggles take decades to resolve.

If President Obama is reelected on Tuesday it will be a victory of the secular moderates over religious extremists. It will be a vitally important victory. But it will be just one BATTLE won in an ongoing war that may take several more elections to resolve. If the Republicans lose, they may not finally accept the message that most Americans do not want the government prying into their personal lives. (Remember Terry Schiavo? Remember the ban under Bush on stem cell research? I can go on and on...) It may take a few more elections for them to get that message. But at least it will be a victory that holds that off for now, and quite possibly, leads to an end to this ongoing political struggle. And may, just may, soon result in the end of the gridlock as Republicans finally moderate and decide that the best way forward is to compromise with President Obama.

Our democracy is working just fine. Every so often in our nation's history there should arise opposing forces that generate both long-term and short-term conflicts. Some may call that gridlock. And that is just fine in my eyes. That is where our country apparently needs to be right now. Hopefully, this battle on Tuesday in this long-term conflict between the religious right and the secular moderates will be won by the tolerant Democratic party over the intolerant Republican one.

Monday, October 29, 2012

The storm is now starting to get going here in Forest Hills. The first significant outer bands just moved across Queens. It should get significantly more vicious from here on in, through tonight. Good luck everyone! Comment below this post on what you experience if you can.

Saturday, October 27, 2012

As I just shared on my Twitter feed, I cannot recall a forecast for a storm to hook off the Atlantic and then make a beeline for the New Jersey shore. Hurricanes in this area, including Irene last year, usually move over us in a south to north direction, not east to west like Sandy is currently forecast to do. And they usually move pretty fast once they reach us.

What is most scary at this moment is that this storm is forecast to actually be stronger than the Perfect Storm, the 1991 storm featured in the movie, and it is expected to move over us very slowly.

If the storm does actually follow this forecasted track, it could be devastating for the Long Island, NYC metro area, especially anywhere along the coast lines. And, because this storm is forecast to not move very fast and hover for a couple of days over the area, wind damage could be extensive as many trees, which still have their leaves, begin to fall.

The 1938 Long Island Express storm

I grew up on the south shore of Long Island, in Nassau County, and while we had many hurricane scares over the years, none ended up being as bad as some of the most dire forecasts. The same goes for Irene last year. So, it's understandable that many local residents might not take Sandy seriously, thinking it, too, will fizzle out as it approaches and not be as bad as they are warning.

Historically speaking, however, our area has been overdue for quite some time for a major hurricane-like storm of the magnitude of the famous Long Island Express storm of September, 1938. It could be that after years of warnings, Sandy might be the first to actually rival that historic storm and bring our area that once in a century event.

Friday, October 26, 2012

Those of you who guessed Gloria Pizza were correct! Specifically, one of their whole wheat plain slices and one of their grilled chicken salad slices. Both were delicious. If you haven't tried them yet, Gloria, one of our newer pizza places in FoHi, is located right next to the Midway Theater.

The latest analysis from the weather experts is that things are looking more and more likely for an historic storm to move towards the NYC metro area as early as this Sunday. While there's been some uncertainty as to the direct path of the storm, the weather models are coming more into alignment that the hurricane will not swing out to sea but loop into the East Coast, possibly near New Jersey or Long Island. This would mean a direct hit for our area and the potential for a storm of historic magnitude. Stay tuned...

Monday, October 22, 2012

By the way, there's talk on some of the weather sites of a huge storm later this weekend. It would start out as a tropical storm or hurricane ("Sandy") and then track up the east coast and merge with another storm right near us.

Of course, whether this weather actually materializes is a huge long shot. But we shall see...

A new awning has gone up for something called Keuka Kafe in a storefront near the fire house on Queens Blvd., in the space where the pet grooming business last was I think.

The information at the location, according to the reader who contacted me about it, says it will be a wine bar, and also sell beer and salads.

My first reaction is a bit mixed. I'm not sure we need another wine bar given that Jack & Nellie's just opened around the corner on Ascan? (By the way, I visited Jack & Nellie's over the weekend — look for a review soon.)

Also, I'm a bit puzzled and somewhat disappointed that whoever is opening this didn't recognize that this part of Forest Hills is pretty far from anywhere else to grab a high-end cup of coffee and kick back and relax. What we really could use is a small, indie coffee place.

I found the above logo on the web, by the way. And I also found an interior diagram, which if it is indeed the place, looks like it has the potential to be another cute spot to hang out. But, like I said, would've preferred a straight-out coffee place.

I just can't help thinking how out of place that sad, downscale Key Food is going to look next to this gleaming new development. <sigh> ... So sad, so very, very sad... We come this close, and yet can't seem to overcome the legacy stuff in this neighborhood that is holding it back from coming fully into its own as a first-rate NYC 'hood.

Sunday, October 21, 2012

By the way, I walked by the old Marianella's last eve to eyeball for myself the QR code on the window—just wanted to get a sense for myself what exactly is up with that location. My conclusion is the beer hall is indeed coming to the site. There's a sign saying they have applied for an alcohol license, and the QR code is very visible and was obviously posted there to intrigue anyone walking by—a creative way to garner some publicity among the younger clientele who a beer hall would indeed be targeting.

Hofbrauhaus in Munich

Above are some pics of the inside of the former Marianella's. As one of the commenters on this blog asked: Is the space big enough for a beer hall? It won't be the Hofbrauhaus in Munich, no. But it could very definitely become a really nice Hall...